300 Oceans to Cross
by colordrifter
Summary: A collection of drabbles 300 words long or less, written for various prompts from the onepiece 300 community on LiveJournal. Ratings and genres vary. Prompt #5: Hungry - "He was terrified."
1. Three Little Words

**Title:** What You Already Know  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> Three Little Words (not "I love you")  
><strong>PairingCharacters:** Luffy  
><strong>Rating:<strong> K  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 300  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not own One Piece.

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><p>You'll never forget the time you first met him, when he bounced into your life completely uninvited. Back then, you were just a nobody with a big dream and almost no way of achieving it. He was only a boy, one with an even bigger and crazier dream than you, and you laughed at him because his dream was absolutely insane. <em>He <em>was absolutely insane. But then he flashed you a smile, one that was brighter than the sun on a cloudless day, and it made you feel warm. You didn't know what he saw in you. _Be my nakama!_ You hesitated because you knew you couldn't measure up to him, not when his dream overshadowed the whole world.

But then he saved you when you didn't know you needed saving, pulled you out of the dark past that threatened to overwhelm you. And it was then that you knew you could never follow anyone else but him. When he asked again, you said yes, of course you said yes, was there really any other answer to begin with? You know you're not the only one; you look at the rest of your nakama and exchange knowing smiles. It was the same with them.

And he doesn't stop. Time and time again, he goes to hell and back for you, for all his nakama. And you have to wonder.

One day you decide to ask. You know it's a silly question because deep down, the answer is already there. So you keep it simple and to the point.

"Why?"

And of course he knows exactly what you mean, knows that you already know the answer yourself, knows because he's _Luffy_, but he replies anyway, his whole face lighting up in a smile that's wider than any ocean.

"Because we're nakama!"


	2. The Morning After

**Title:** Try to Forget  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> The Morning After  
><strong>PairingCharacters:** Shanks and Buggy  
><strong>Rating:<strong> T (for one little word)  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 300  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not own One Piece.

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><p>Shanks wakes up.<p>

His eyes snap open and he sits up abruptly. For a second, he's confused. This isn't his bed, or even his cabin on the_ Oro Jackson_. The room is quiet except for the sound of gentle breathing. Then his memories catch up with his mind and he remembers the day before.

Roaring crowds, a fearless grin, an earth-shaking proclamation, and the _swish_ of the swords as they swing down, down, down…

Shanks still can't believe that his captain is gone, even after watching it happen with his own eyes.

He turns and sees Buggy asleep on the bed across the room, curled up like a ball. The night before, Buggy had insisted that the two of them share a room after seeing how crowded the inn was. Shanks suspected that the other boy had other reasons too, but he agreed, grateful for the company but only wanting silence.

Now, the silence feels painful.

Shanks slips out bed and crosses the room. "Hey, wake up," he says, shaking Buggy gently.

The other boy groans and uncurls himself. "Another minute, Rayleigh…"

The shaking grows more insistent. "Buggy, wake up!"

Buggy sits up groggily. "Huh…?" He sees Shanks. "Oh…it's you. What do you want?"

Shanks opens his mouth and finds that he doesn't know what to say. So he goes for the next best thing.

"You look horrible."

And it's true. Buggy's eyes are as red and puffy as his nose.

Buggy glares at him. Shanks fully expects a barrage of insults to come his way, but Buggy only mutters "Bastard" before turning away.

More silence. Then,

"This isn't a dream, is it?"

Shanks starts in surprise. Buggy studies his quilt.

"No," admits Shanks. "It's not."

Buggy finally looks at Shanks. "Then it's a nightmare."

And Shanks can only agree.


	3. Misunderstanding

**Title:** New Identity  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> Misunderstanding  
><strong>PairingsCharacters:** Roger Pirates  
><strong>Rating:<strong> K  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 300  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not own One Piece.  
><strong>Note:<strong> Buggy is not this story because in my headcanon, this takes place before Buggy joins the crew. Also, the word limit did not make things easy.

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><p>"Hey everyone, new bounty posters!" Shanks started ruffling through them furiously. "I'm sure I got a bounty by now..."<p>

Rayleigh smacked him over the head. "Hey cabin boy, stop hogging the posters and pass 'em out already." The boy grumbled but did as he was told.

Rayleigh grinned at his own bounty, which had increased by 50 million. Not too shabby for another three months at sea. He saw Shanks pouting at a poster. "Finally got a bounty? Ten-thousand berries isn't bad for an eleven-year-old."

"It's not even in the millions!"

"Cheer up, kid. The Marines don't think you're strong, but you'll prove them wrong, eh?" He smiled at the boy and walked over to his captain, who was scowling hugely at his own poster. "How'd you do, Roger?"

Roger shoved the paper into Rayleigh's face. "Look!"

Rayleigh blinked. "Say, that's a very respectable increase-"

"The name, Rayleigh!"

"...Oh. They spelled it wrong."

"Who is 'Gold Roger,' I ask you? My name is Gol **D. **Roger! Where's the space and period?"

"You know the Marines are unreliable; they probably just misprinted," said Rayleigh, trying to make him feel better.

Roger's scowl deepened. "How do you misprint _my _name? It's a very unique name! Not many people have middle initials!"

Crocus overheard and looked over. "You have to admit, 'Gold Roger' has a nice piratey feel that 'Gol D. Roger' just doesn't have."

"I _like _my name," muttered Roger.

"They'll probably fix the error in the next batch, Cap'n. It's not like people won't recognize you, even with a mistake on your poster." Crocus clapped him on the back and Roger looked slightly less sulky.

But Rayleigh wondered if the Marines actually deliberately misprinted Roger's name. It seemed like the World Government had finally learned about the Will of D.


	4. Not Going as Planned

**Title:** Modifications  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> not going as planned  
><strong>PairingsCharacters:** Usopp  
><strong>Rating:<strong> K  
><strong>Word count:<strong> 300  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not own One Piece.  
><strong>Note:<strong> This is actually a late entry for a much earlier prompt. I didn't finish this when the deadline for the prompt rolled around and I finally had some time to brush this up today.

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><p>"Did you know that I was born in Syrup Village, just like you?"<p>

The little five-year-old girl gazed back at the old man with adoring eyes, hanging onto his every word.

"Even as a young boy, I was famous for my bravery and charm. Kids followed me wherever I went; they wanted to be just like me." _Exactly three of them_, thought Usopp, but his granddaughter didn't need to know that.

"I was a great storyteller. My stories always came true, no matter how outrageous."

"Really?" Her eyes were as round as teacup saucers.

He grinned. That innocent and naive face reminded him of Chopper. "Of course! Just ask your Grandma Kaya! All my stories came to life, I swear!

The tiny girl was doubtful. "Swear on Sogeking's mask?"

"Yes, on Sogeking's mask."

Reassured, she commanded, "Continue!"

"I was the best sharpshooter this village had ever seen." And indeed, as unbelievable as it was, he had surpassed even Yasopp in the end. "But I had a bigger dream. I wanted to-"

"Become a pirate!" she shouted.

"Hmm, close enough. My dad was a prate, a very brave one, and I wanted to be just like him.

"I was going to be the Great Captain Usopp! With eight thousand men at my every beck and call, I'd be the brave warrior of the seas-"

"But you weren't, Grandpa!"

Usopp paused. "Weren't what?"

"You weren't the Great Captain Usopp with eight thousand men; you were Pirate King Luffy's sharpshooter! Grandma said so!" she said with a little frown, reproachful of this lie.

"You're right," admitted Usopp, smiling fondly at her and thinking of days and nakama long gone. "Things didn't quite go according to plan."

The life he lived was indescribably much better. He wouldn't have traded it for anything.


	5. Hunger

**Title:** Carnivorous  
><strong>Prompt:<strong> Hungry  
><strong>PairingsCharacters:** Luffy  
><strong>Rating:<strong> K  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 300  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not own One Piece.  
><strong>Note:<strong> This was hugely inspired by jadekitty777's entry on Usopp and his post-timeskip hunger.

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><p>In the last months of his training on Rusukaina, Luffy faced a very serious problem.<p>

No, it wasn't that the volcano erupted and nearly melted him down into a pool of rubber (although that did happen). The problem was much worse than that.

Luffy was running out of meat.

The first year-and-a-half of training offered great meals. There were plenty of big animals to beat up and chomp on. Things only got easier as Luffy got the hang of using Haki. But after Rayleigh left, Luffy was lonely. So he talked to the giant animals instead of beating them up. The animals were pretty friendly, once he got to know them better.

For a while, things were great: he was getting stronger and the two years were ending. He would see his crew soon.

The problem came in the last two months. After a long hunt for food one day, Luffy realized that it was running out. Sure, there were plenty of creatures left on the island, but they were his friends now. He couldn't eat his _friends_; that wouldn't be nice.

Soon, Luffy's meat choices were limited to giant rabbits around Franky's size (they were okay to eat; they weren't nice and kept kicking him when he tried to talk to them). In the last few weeks, he even rationed the meat: instead of one whole rabbit a day, he'd only eat half. Even then, the rabbits were quickly running out.

He was terrified. How could he ever go without meat?

Then came that fateful day when the worst happened: the rabbits were gone. With tears of despair, he ate fruit and dug up roots, lamenting his sorry fate of being reduced to eating _plants_.

Needless to say, Luffy was very, _very_ glad when Hancock arrived the next morning.


End file.
